Sports News and Trade Rumors: Pro Sports Daily

Nilsson told to concentrate on positive to keep off bench

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November 7

Edmonton Journal

"Robert Nilsson now has to wait until Sunday until he can spit out the lingering bad taste of his last game, which is one period longer than most of his Edmonton Oilers mates following his third period benching against the New York Rangers. In the meantime, he approached head coach Pat Quinn after practice on Friday to have a chat. "We were just talking about hockey," said Quinn. "We were just talking about how we can be better in certain situations. We feel Bobby has lots to bring. He's one of those young men who wants to learn and wants to do better.""

Oilers leave Bulin Wall to stand alone

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November 7

Edmonton Journal

"The head man needed no prodding when the conversation shifted to the overworked Nikolai Khabibulin, who was noticeable in his absence at the Edmonton Oilers practice session on Friday. "We've only played 16 (games), but he's played 25," said Pat Quinn. "Time to let him stay home." The Oilers netminder has now been blitzed with 478 shots through 14 games, and to his credit, has stopped 433 of them. Only Craig Anderson of the Colorado Avalanche has seen more, but he has also played more games. "A goalie is supposed to give you confidence. He's given us plenty," said Oilers defenceman Tom Gilbert. "We're giving up too much. Our defensive zone play isn't good enough. They just pass the puck ..."

Oilers perched on the edge of a precipice

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November 7

Edmonton Sun

"The Edmonton Oilers took off their red faces yesterday and replaced them with brave ones as they tried their best to downplay the inherent dangers of heading out to sea in a leaky boat. A team that's getting worse by the day looked a week ahead of its time Thursday as the New York Rangers exposed gaping holes in Edmonton's offence, defence, special teams and competitive spirit. And now, after taking on water for two weeks, winning just once in their last seven tries, the 11th place Oilers sail out for five straight, and 11 of their next 16, on the road. Nobody really wants to think about it, or maybe that's all they've been thinking about and they just don't want to talk about it, but if ..."

Quinn gives Nilsson advice

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November 7

Edmonton Sun

"Robert Nilsson wanted a sit-down with Pat Quinn, which is only fair since Quinn sat Nilsson down for the entire third period Thursday against New York. The stone-cold winger sought out his coach after practice and had a good 10-minute chat. "He told me to think about the positive stuff and leave the negative behind," said Nilsson, who took the advice to heart. "He's been around a long time, you trust him and you have a lot of respect." Shutting out the negative is good, but making sure there are fewer negatives to shut out by playing harder on the ice is even better. Nilsson knows he's been tepid this season, and knows it has to change."

Edmonton Oilers lose 4-2 to New York Rangers

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November 6

Edmonton Journal

"Just before Paul Lorieau cleared his throat to sing the two anthems, a leather-lung in the Rexall Place seats gave Nikolai Khabibulin his first shot of the night. "Khabibulin ... win one in a row." The fan was picking on the wrong guy. The beleaguered goalie, who has been very good for the last dozen games, was one of the few Edmonton Oilers who showed up Thursday night as the New York Rangers rolled to a 4-2 win. The Rangers not only scored three goals on the power play in four tries, but also emphasized all of the home team's warts. The Oilers only have one big player with top-end skill (Dustin Penner), their small guys don't win enough battles, and in their end, opposing teams have a ..."

Fog finally lifts for Souray

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November 6

Edmonton Sun

"Shedon Souray doesn't remember slamming into the end boards, or being helped off the ice, or much of anything that happened the last time he played a hockey game. All he recalls are the brief moments when his brain managed to fire properly for a few seconds, pulling him out of the haze just long enough to realize something wasn't right. "I kind of remember sitting in the training room watching the game on TV," said the Oilers defenceman, speaking publicly for the first time since his Oct. 8 concussion. "I was in my equipment. I was (like) 'whoa, this is kind of weird.' Things kinds of came back to me slowly, but I don't remember what happened." It's been a month since Jarome Iginla tripped ..."

Get out of town

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November 6

Edmonton Sun

"The Edmonton Oilers are clearly a hockey team in big, big trouble. And next comes double trouble. It was Game 16 and the body language of Pat Quinn's team was that of a club mopping up the season with 16 games to go and out of the playoffs. The Oilers now head into the double trouble part of the schedule which will see them play 11 of the next 16 games on the road as a result of the combination of the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Roar of the Rings Olympic curling trials taking over Rexall Place. SPREAD THE FLU Which means they can spread the flu to Colorado, Ottawa, Buffalo, Atlanta, Columbus, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay and St. Louis while at the same time temporarily ..."

Kotalik burns old team

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November 6

Edmonton Sun

"Some eyebrows were raised in wonder when the New York Rangers offered Ales Kotalik a three-year contract worth $3-million per season. But judging by his performance so far, the former Oilers winger looks to be a bargain. Playing his first game back in Edmonton since signing with the Rangers as a free agent this summer, Kotalik scored a goal and added a pair of assists in a 4-2 win over the Oilers last night. The three points gave the Czech Republic native 15 through 17 games this season. "He's played well," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "Obviously he's a big guy on the power play with his shot. I thought after a slow start this year, he's begun to understand the game away from ..."

'Embarrassing' display by Oilers

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November 6

Edmonton Sun

"It's pretty hard to wear out your welcome on a one-game homestand, but the Edmonton Oilers managed to do just that, judging from the bum's rush they got last night at Rexall Place. Home for one game before heading out on a five-game road trip, it was clearly one-game too many for an increasingly frustrated crowd that's almost as tired of this team as its coach is. With one win in their last seven games, and outscored 19-5 in the six losses, the Oilers seem worse now than they ever did last season. Take last night, please. The Oilers looked small, timid, disorganized, devoid of passion and offensively clueless in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. And those were the good points. "It's ..."

Del Zotto making impression in rookie season

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November 5

Edmonton Journal

"Michael Del Zotto plunked himself down to do an interview and the ribbing started. "Yeah, he wins rookie of the month, and he's throwing his stuff on the ground for the trainer to pick up," kidded his New York Rangers teammates. "And, now he won't shut up." The 19-year-old Del Zotto may have an attitude when he's got the puck --his coach, John Tortorella, calls it "arrogance," in a good way--but he's polite and deferential with the training staff, also in conversation, Of course, he's talking to somebody old enough to be his father. But, seriously, he's good and he knows it, but he also knows he's been in the NHL a month, he's not beating his chest publicly, and nobody's taken to comparing ..."

Oilers' Horcoff out with shoulder injury

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November 5

Edmonton Journal

"Shawn Horcoff was hit with the flu, but managed to play through it. He can't do the same with the hit he took from Andy Sutton. The veteran centre has a left-shoulder injury that will keep him out of the Edmonton Oilers lineup for tonight's game against the New York Rangers, as well as the next few games. Drilled by Sutton in the third period of Monday's 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders, Horcoff knew right away that something wasn't right. He was also adamant that the labrum, surgically repaired in the 2007-08 season, held up during the collision. After racking up 50 points in the first 53 games, Horcoff had to undergo season-ending surgery when it became apparent that he wasn't going to ..."

Gagner becomes Quinn's centre of attrition

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November 5

Edmonton Journal

"His first-line centre, Shawn Horcoff, wasn't playing like one and is now nursing a shoulder injury that may take him out of action for 10 days. The only other veteran, natural centre on the roster, Mike Comrie, has been too flu-bitten to play any position, other than prone, and prefers the wing anyway. And the rest of the candidates are apparently precocious pivots, kids who were given big-league jobs before they earned them, according to Oilers head coach Pat Quinn, and haven't yet grown into the role of top drawer NHLers. Oh, and as a group they have been too easy to play against, shut out three times, have lost five of their last six and the damn Flames got the H1N1 shots before they ..."

Horcoff lost for 7-10 days

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November 5

Edmonton Sun

"The answer comes straight out of the Pro Sports Cliche handbook, right next to "looking in the mirror" when things go bad, "total team effort" when things go good and "it must have been something in the supplements" when the test comes back positive. When an important player is injured, the rest of the team rolls out the old reliable quotes about "stepping up." Somebody has to step up. We all have to step up. It's an opportunity for a young guy to step up. Step up, step up, step up. Somebody gets hurt and suddenly they're all doing commercials for Stairmaster. Only right now, in Edmonton, the step isn't very high. With one win in the last six games, three goals in the last five losses and ..."

Oilers' Horcoff out with shoulder injury

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November 4

Edmonton Journal

"Oilers veteran Shawn Horcoff has a shoulder injury and will not play Thursday against the New York Rangers. He said he will not require surgery but does not know when he'll return. Oilers coach Pat Quinn said he has been told seven to 10 days."

Limited use of Horcoff means he's sick or hurt

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November 4

Edmonton Journal

"Shawn Horcoff played only 14 minutes against the New York Islanders. Was he hurt or sick? The Edmonton Oilers centre got the least ice time of any game this season on Monday, and while he admitted he was under the weather to start the game, he was in discomfort on the bench in the third period after the Islanders six-foot-six defenceman Andy Sutton rocked him. It looked like they may have been working on Horcoff's shoulder or arm. He wasn't on the ice in the dying stages when the Oilers pulled their goalie and were taking faceoffs in the Islanders end. The Oilers didn't practise on Tuesday, so there was no medical update. Sutton, who had a fight with J.F. Jacques in the first period when ..."

Enigmatic Oilers full of puzzling trends

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November 4

Edmonton Journal

"As Bill Parcells, the no-nonsense football coach says, you are what your record says you are. The Edmonton Oilers are a .500 hockey team. Did anyone honestly think they were better than that? Last season, the Oilers started 4-0 and were 8-6-1 after 15 games. This season, they started 6-2-1, and are now 7-7-1. Last season, they were the 25th-best home team, and were 12th on the road. This season, they're just as head-scratching. They've got 13 points at Rexall Place and they're roadkill when they leave The Drugstore, with just two points. At least the Oilers can win somewhere, although with 11 of the next 17 on the road, it could spiral out of control in the next five weeks. Edmonton's only ..."

Oilers not getting their shots

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November 4

Edmonton Sun

"It could be worse -- head coach Pat Quinn could be in charge of a chaotic and woefully unprepared immunization program that shrugs its shoulders while children and pregnant woman are shoved aside by a stampede of selfish adults. And Flames. As bad as things are under Quinn's watch, nobody's kid ever died because an offence didn't know what it was doing. And speaking of not getting shots, how about those Oilers? You'd swear Ed Stelmach and Ron Liepert were on Edmonton's power play for all the aimless bumbling that's gone on in the last week. The numbers are painful to look at: Oilers: One win in the last six games. Robert Nilsson: One goal (an empty netter) and a team-worst minus 9 in 10 ..."

Veteran helps lift weight from Tavares' shoulders

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November 3

Edmonton Journal

"The protege was sitting a few stalls down from captain Doug Weight, readying himself for his 14th game in the National Hockey League. "Great kid. Great talent. I see him growing with every game--at a rapid rate,," Weight said when the conversation shifted to John Tavares. He sounded more like a proud uncle than a league veteran Tavares is not just another teammate. The New York Islanders' first-line winger was the first pick in the June draft. He is the franchise player. "Doug has made things very easy. All I have to do is focus in on hockey," Tavares said. "I think I've taken that first step a lot quicker than I would have had I been on my own." Weight has not only been mentoring the ..."

Schremp awaits opportunity

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November 3

Edmonton Journal

"The door is still open for Rob Schremp, who is on his second NHL stop. The trouble is that he is better at centre than on the wing. Nor is he a checker, which has limited his role to that of a 13th forward. The Edmonton Oilers former first-round draft pick, claimed by the New York Islanders on Sept. 29, was a healthy scratch against his old mates. He has played six games for the Islanders in the early going, but none of the last six. "I have to be wait my turn," Schremp said. "It's a good experience to be here, learning what it takes to be in the NHL. You can only guess when you're in the minors." With Matt Moulson centring the top line, Doug Weight on the second, and Frans Nielsen back ..."

'We sure shoot ourselves in the foot'

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November 3

Edmonton Journal

"The Edmonton Oilers must all be at Witt's end. The Oilers stumbled to 1-5 in their last six outings and are now 1-5 on the road after they were spanked 3-1 by the New York Islanders on Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders, who had just one win to show for their first 10 games, now have a four-game winning streak thanks to Brendan Witt's first two-goal game of his career. "We didn't block enough shots. We didn't get enough shots through," said Oilers captain Ethan Moreau, who opened the scoring 11 minutes into the game. Unfortunately, the Oilers reverted to their same troubled ways and have just one goal to show for their last two games. They were shut out 2-0 by the Boston Bruins on ..."

Shot in the foot -- again

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November 3

Edmonton Sun

"At least they scored a goal. It's all about small moral victories right now, in lieu of any real ones, for the slumping Edmonton Oilers, and a fruitless two-game road trip that yielded one fluke in 120 minutes is about as small as it gets. "I wish I had a way to put a finger on what's missing right now," head coach Pat Quinn said after last night's 3-1 loss to the Islanders, which came on the heels of a 2-0 loss to Boston. "We sure shoot ourselves in the foot. We're a team that beats ourselves right now. In the second period we abandoned any principles of defence. They looked like the Harlem Globetrotters for a couple of shifts there. "If you check like that, you lose hockey games." They ..."

Oilers ready for Roloson

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November 3

Edmonton Sun

"The Edmonton Oilers know from first hand experience that Dwayne Roloson probably isn't the guy you want to see at the other end of the ice when you're trying to break out of an offensive funk. Which is precisely why New York coach Scott Gordon is putting him there tonight when his surging Islanders host the slumping Oilers at Nassau County Coliseum. After watching New York's other goalie, Martin Biron, shut out his old team, the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, Gordon figures he might was well give Roloson a chance to get into Edmonton's kitchen. "It's tough to always do because these guys have been around for a while and played for a few teams," chuckled Gordon. "But if it's something we can ..."

Rangers to face former coach and current Edmonton Oilers assistant Tom Renney

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November 3

New York Daily News

"This isn't going to be a homecoming for Tom Renney, and for now, that's just fine with him. The Rangers begin a three-city swing through Western Canada Tuesday night in Vancouver, with their next stop Thursday in Edmonton, where they will see their former coach behind the Oilers bench, now an assistant to Pat Quinn. And Renney will see a team he coached for four-plus seasons with some work he feels proud of, even if he feels there was some unfinished business. "It's not quite the same unit," Renney said yesterday of the John Tortorella-led Rangers that includes 10 players Renney never coached in New York, "but I'm going to have a hard time looking at the logo and not identifying with it. ..."

Isles strike Oil! Win 4th straight

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November 3

New York Post

"Until last night, the Islanders had not been over .500 in more than a year. And Brendan Witt hadn't scored two goals since . . . ever. Well, that changed last night with another strong effort in a 3-1 win over Edmonton. Now, a season that started out with concerns that it would be a repeat of last year's 30th place nightmare is beginning to look different, thanks to a four-game winning streak -- their first since January-February of last year. "It feels good," coach Scott Gordon said. "It's something as a group we're not used to and we talked before the game about how to handle success." That was a discussion that never had to take place last year, but with production from throughout the ..."

Oiler shooters can't find target

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November 2

Edmonton Sun

"Goal starved? It's a wonder UNICEF isn't holding a telethon for these guys. " ... For just 10 cents a day, you can make a difference by sponsoring an Oilers goal scorer so that he might have the same kind of basic hands that players all over the league take for granted." We're not saying the Oilers are starved for offence, but rumour has it they've asked Mary-Kate Olsen to guest star on their power play. In a stunning reversal of fortune, a team that scored in its sleep through the first nine games of this season is now putting up more zeroes than a Daryl Katz pay stub. "Getting shut out three of four games is tough, that should never happen," said centre Gilbert Brule, who's trying, like ..."

Flu bug bites Horcoff

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November 2

Edmonton Sun

"The latest flu report has Lubomir Visnovsky and Mike Comrie inching closer to a return and Shawn Horcoff checking into sick bay. Horcoff came down with flu symptoms before Saturday's game in Boston and was sent home from practice yesterday. "We'll see how he feels today," said head coach Pat Quinn, who's had at least 10 players and most of the training staff hit with a lingering bug that has sapped his team's energy level. "We've played good half games and then seemed to die. You don't like to make excuses, but maybe there's something in there." Some of them have H1N1 and others just a particularly nasty strain of the regular flu. "The doctor said, 'Lubo, you probably have H1N1' -- but ..."

Tambellini makes dad proud

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November 2

Edmonton Journal

"Dad's first was packed away on Dec. 3, 1982, when he was with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils won the game 5-4 and Steve Tambellini would go on to register his second career hat trick two years later, when he was with the Calgary Flames. It also happened against the Hartford Whalers. So how does his son follow up on his first three goal night? Jeff Tambellini notched his first NHL hat trick in the New York Islanders' 5-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday-- and he did it with his father in the building. "As a parent, there's an emotional connection there when you're watching a hockey game," said Steve Tambellini, who will be wearing his general manager's hat tonight when his ..."

Sick of losing, shoddy defensive play

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November 2

Edmonton Journal

"There is a wheeze where there was once a quiet breath, leaving Mike Comrie uncertain about his status for today's showdown with the surging New York Islanders. At least he made it to the Edmonton Oilers practice. Centre Shawn Horcoff, the latest of the players to be dropped by the flu, was sent back to the team's hotel room. Head coach Pat Quinn? He has managed to dodge the bug, but he is definitely sick of all the other ailments--like the shortage of wins, the lack of goals, the shoddy defensive play of his team. "Is it our mental toughness?Our physical well-being? I guess it's probably a combination of both," said Quinn. His charges are not only a mere 1-4 in their last five games, they ..."

Hats off to Oil GM's son

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November 2

Edmonton Sun

"Steve Tambellini doesn't know whether to shed tears of joy, or sorrow. His son, Jeff, has six goals in the last five games. His team, Edmonton, has seven. Doh! I mean Hooray! I mean Doh! Blood is thicker than the logo, so it'll be with mixed emotions that the Oilers general manager watches Edmonton take on Jeff and the New York Islanders tonight. The perfect scenario from his standpoint would be his son getting another hat-trick and the Oilers winning 4-3. 'HUGE GAME' "We want to win," he said. "Obviously I hope he does well, but I'm not really concerned with what they do. It's a huge game for us. Huge game. We have a lengthy span of road games coming up in the next month, so we want to go ..."

Beat down in Beantown

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November 1

Edmonton Journal

"Zdeno Chara, the Boston Bruins control tower, was all business. Armed with his 65-inch Easton stick, the six-foot-nine defenceman negated the Edmonton Oilers top line so efficiently that head coach Pat Quinn even tried separating Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner to try giving one of his two point-getters some room. It made no difference. With Chara on the back end and the Bruins fourth line scoring a pair of goals, the Oilers wound up with nothing to show for their long flight to Boston, except a 2-0 loss in Saturday's matinee outing--a scenario that is becoming frighteningly familiar. The Oilers have been shut out in three of their last four games. They have not scored against Boston since ..."

Chara was an impact player again

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November 1

Boston Globe

"The giant wasn't asleep, or even close to nodding off, but for the first month of the new season, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was a somewhat slumbering version of his Norris Trophy-winning self. He was caught somewhere between being the dominating Big Z and just being a whole bunch of little z's . . . zzzz . . . zzz . . . zz. Until yesterday. After four-plus weeks of being good here, OK there, and only moderately effective overall, Chara played with his familiar thump, aggression, and smarts yesterday, piling up a game-high eight hits and pairing with Derek Morris to turn Edmonton's big line - Dustin Penner, Shawn Horcoff, and Ales Hemsky - into a miniaturized version of itself."

Bruins hit their stride

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November 1

Boston Globe

"Two years ago, Vladimir Sobotka was in Boston out of necessity. He was rushed into NHL service as a first-year pro because of injuries at the big-league level. Last season, when Sobotka might have felt that an NHL job was a given, he spent most of the time in Providence, which is where he belonged because of his listless play during his Boston recalls. This season, after two games (against Nashville and Philadelphia), coach Claude Julien was seeing more of last year's Sobotka than the 2007-08 version. They talked prior to the Bruins' shootout win over Ottawa last Saturday, with Julien reminding Sobotka to play his old straight-line game instead of being a passive player."

'Beast' Zdeno Chara delivers beauty of a performance

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November 1

Boston Herald

"Stroll down the hall from the Bruins dressing room to get the final word on Zdeno Chara's performance in the team's 2-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers yesterday at TD Garden. "Oh my God, he was a beast out there," said Oilers forward Shawn Horcoff. "He's a big boy. I'm glad he's in the East." This may have been the best game this season by the Bruins; it was certainly the best by Chara, who recently has been damned with faint praise by coach Claude Julien. "He's never been bad, he's been OK," Julien said. "Unfortunately, for an elite player like him, everybody wants him to be better than OK." Chara was a whole lot better than that in this one, given the assignment all day of neutralizing ..."

Bruins' effort pays off

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November 1

Boston Herald

"Maybe the most challenging shot Tuukka Rask faced all afternoon came with 45 seconds left yesterday at the Garden, a dangerous, in-close rip by the Edmonton Oilers' Gilbert Brule. Other than that, honestly, it was hard to recall many legitimate scoring chances by the Oilers. That's how strong the Bruins were in the 2-0 victory - maybe their finest performance of the young season. "I thought we were extremely dominant," coach Claude Julien said. "We really put a lot of pressure on them. All four lines did a great job keeping pressure and keeping them hemmed in their own end for most of the (game)." Rask stopped 19 shots for his second career shutout, and the hard-working third line of ..."

Chorney earning trust

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October 31

Edmonton Journal

"Between them, Sheldon Souray and Steve Staios have banked 1,458 regular-season games in the NHL--a staggering 1,447 more than Taylor Chorney has played. The apprentice defenceman knows he's going to take his lumps. But with Souray and Staios reeling from post-concussion syndrome, leaving the Edmonton Oilers without their top defensive pairing since the season was just three games old, Chorney has become a quick study. In Thursday's 6-5 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings, a game the Oilers played without Lubomir Visnovksy (flu), Chorney played a career-high 20:56. In the plus-minus department, Chorney was even on the night, and he was out with partner Tom Gilbert in ..."

Bruins won't panic despite slow start

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October 31

Edmonton Journal

"Coaches are paid to worry, but Boston Bruins bench boss Claude Julien comes from the glass-is-half-full school. The Bruins, who host the Edmonton Oilers this morning, have had more ebb than flow to their game the first month, but it was the same storyline last October. Boston has won five games and lost six if you take in overtime or shootout losses this month. Last year, they were 5-6, too. They went 47-23 the rest of the way. "We were very ordinary in October last year, but I think we went 11-1 in November," said Julien. "That being said, you can't live in the past and you can't expect it'll happen again. But our game is coming around. We're tightening up defensively, just like we did ..."

How to be road warriors

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October 31

Edmonton Sun

"They accomplished what they set out to do at home -- win -- now it's time to take their show on the road. After shoring up a major area of weakness last season, the Oilers did a much better job of protecting Rexall Place, going 6-2-1 in their first nine home games. "I think we've done a pretty good job," said Andrew Cogliano. "Our home record is pretty good." It gets a little tougher now as the Oilers play seven of their next eight, and 13 of their next 19, on the road, where they are 1-3 this year. "It's going to be fun," said Patrick O'Sullivan. "I think our team is looking forward to it. This is going to be a good test for our team." Learning how to play a good road game might be the ..."

Grebeshkov steps up big

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October 31

Edmonton Sun

"Denis Grebeshkov has been a walking disaster at times this season, but he played 28:54 against the Wings and was plus-1 on a night when the Oilers gave up five even-strength goals. "That was Grebby's best game," said Oilers head coach Pat Quinn. "He's capable of being a good player, but he's been under performing for much of the early part of the year." Splitting he and Tom Gilbert up seems to agree with Grebeshkov. "He came up with a good game," said Quinn. "And we hope that's the level he's going to stay at." Quinn needs all his defencemen sharp. With Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios and Lubomir Visnovsky out, they're desperately short-handed, which contributed to breakdowns against Detroit ..."

Oilers in 'survival mode'

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October 31

Edmonton Sun

"The old adage is probably true -- that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger -- but it remains to be seen if the Edmonton Oilers will come out of this dead or strong. With a revolving sick bay of players either coughing up lungs or bed ridden with the flu, three of their best defencemen down with illness or injury and seven of their next eight games on the road, the Oilers have been fortune's whipping boys since opening night. Some of the adversity is self-inflicted, like Nikolai Khabibulin's own goal in Game 1, and some of it isn't, like the Steve Staios concussion in Game 2, Sheldon Souray's in Game 3 or Ryan Stone's knee injury in Game 8. The season is 13 games old and 10 ..."

'We're watching'

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October 31

Calgary Herald

"During a pit stop in Edmonton this week, Steve Yzerman heard non-stop about the renaissance of one Dustin Penner. Nineteen points in 13 games? That's quite the comeback for a guy written off this past summer as an overweight, unmotivated bust with zero trade value. From Edmonton, the executive director for Team Canada drove down to Calgary, where fans positively gush over Flames winger Rene Bourque. The undrafted forward out of Lac la Biche, Alta., has banged, crashed and scored his way through the month of October to the tune of 14 points, including five goals, through 11 National Hockey League games. "I've certainly noticed he's playing very well," Yzerman said Friday from his perch in ..."

Oilers edge Red Wings in shootout

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October 30

Edmonton Journal

columnist Jim Matheson

"At his regular morning media scrum Thursday, Edmonton Oilers head coach Pat Quinn was asked if moving struggling centre Shawn Horcoff back with Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner might rein in the big horses. A negative vortex field, was how a media fellow cleverly put it, as he waded in to question whether some of Horcoff's troubles would rub off on the other two productive wingers, even though Quinn basically said he was basically playing bingo because Mike Comrie's flu necessitated gambling for Thursday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. Comrie, Quinn said, was going to play with Horcoff on a second line but when he didn't make it to the rink Thursday morning, he decided to shake up ..."

Edmonton Oilers beat Detroit Red Wings 6-5 in shootout

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October 30

Edmonton Journal

"At his regular morning media scrum Thursday, Edmonton Oilers coach Pat Quinn was asked if moving struggling centre Shawn Horcoff back with Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner might rein in the big horses. "A negative vortex field" was how a media fellow cleverly put it, as he waded in to question whether some of Horcoff's troubles would rub off on the other two productive wingers, even though Quinn basically said he was basically playing bingo because Mike Comrie's flu necessitated gambling. Comrie, Quinn said, was going to play with Horcoff on a second line but when he didn't make it to the rink Thursday morning, he decided to shake up the first and second units. As it turned out, Horcoff did ..."

Staios still clearing cobwebs

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October 30

Edmonton Sun

"Steve Staios felt like he was stuck in Groundhog Day, and every morning was a wicked New Years Day hangover that wouldn't go away. Knocked out of Edmonton's lineup with a concussion two games into the season, he's been trying to free himself from the cobwebs ever since. "The first 10 days that I took off were not very good at all, I had some really rough days," said the Oilers defenceman, who felt well enough, finally, to skate for the first time yesterday, "I'm glad I'm past those because they were tough. Walking, around in a fog, you don't feel crisp. That hangover feeling all day. "It was a little bit concerning at some points, but you try not to make too much of it and hope the next ..."

Almost flu past them

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October 30

Edmonton Sun

"This flu stuff has a way of mutating. Just when it looked like the Edmonton Oilers had solved their can't-score-itis, they contracted can't-hold-onto-a-lead-itis. A game that looked like it was in the bag had to go to a shootout before the Oilers escaped with a 6-5 win. The Oilers improved its home record to 6-5-1 in one of the more bizarre games of the season. Edmonton had built up a 5-1 lead midway through the second period and were relegated to the role of spectators as the Wings clawed their way back into the game. "That's a pretty good team if you let them off the hook," said Oilers coach Pat Quinn. "We started to be the team like they were in the first period. All the things we know ..."

Wings lose shootout, lose Valtteri Filppula to injury

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October 30

Detroit News

"They got away with spotting the Canucks a 2-0 lead in Vancouver Tuesday, but spotting the Edmonton Oilers two four-goal leads? Why not? Playing a miserable game and on the verge of getting run out of Rexall Place, the Wings got goals from Darren Helm (his first NHL regular season goal) and Henrik Zetterberg late in the second. Then, still down 5-2, they scored three goals in a span of 6:21 in the third to steal an overtime point. But the Oilers salvaged a 6-5 win with Patrick O'Sullivan's goal in the shootout. The Wings' Jason Williams, Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg were all denied by Nikolai Khabibulin in the shootout. But to get the game to overtime was a minor miracle. "We took over ..."

Lack of scoring least of team's worries

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October 29

Edmonton Journal

"On Tuesday morning, Pat Quinn lamented the fact that he had but one line that could score. By Tuesday night, the Edmonton Oilers head coach wasn't even that fortunate. No matter the speed at which he blends, no matter the healthy players he slaps together with those who have been sick or may even be getting sick, the duos and trios he combines in fits of desperation, he has not been able to squeeze a single goal out of this sickened lineup for seven periods now. Oilers fans have traded early enthusiasm for recent worry with the team in an 0-3 spin. Though it's way too early to even look for the panic button, much less give it a whack, there is now an official medical reason to be concerned ..."

Oilers G Men short on D

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October 29

Edmonton Journal

"Much has been made of Shawn Horcoff's power outage, with the centre figuring in only two of the Edmonton Oilers'38 goals, but somebody else has been in defencemen Tom Gilbert's and Denis Grebeshkov's jerseys, too. Grebeshkov has seven points, is tied with Hal Gill for the league-high in giveaways, with 18, and is minus-five. Gilbert, who had 45 points last season, has but two points in 12 games, 11 giveaways, and is minus-2. Grebeshkov and Gilbert have played as a tag-team but might be split up for the Detroit Red Wings game tonight. Based off of Wednesday's practice, Grebeshkov could be with rookie Taylor Chorney and Gilbert with Jason Strudwick on the patchwork blue-line. Lubomir ..."

Edmonton Oilers' Smid down with H1N1; now Visnovsky?

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October 29

Edmonton Journal

"Ladislav Smid, who contracted the H1N1 virus about two weeks ago, may have passed the swine flu along to his Edmonton Oilers teammates, but he didn't know he had it until Tuesday. "I'm worried ... I don't want anybody getting sick because of me," said Smid, who is the fourth NHL player to get it. New York Islanders centre Doug Weight, Washington Capitals forward Quintin Laing and Colorado Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj are the others. Smid first came down with a high fever between the Minnesota Wild game on Oct. 16 and a home game against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 19. "It's already happened. There's nothing I can do about it," said Smid, who played more than 20 minutes against Colorado ..."

Oilers third line showed some jump

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October 29

Edmonton Sun

"They were among three of the healthiest guys in the Oilers' room, so it was little surprise they were one of the few lines with some jump Tuesday. Head coach Pat Quinn kept throwing J-F Jacques, Gilbert Brule and Robert Nilsson over the boards in the 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. And while the trio did not score, they generated most of the chances in the contest for the Oilers. "I had a couple of chances and I think I should have had at least two goals," said Nilsson. "We had a couple of chances, but we still have to score. "If we're able to score then maybe we're able to get a couple of points out of that game." The Oilers have been shooting blanks recently. They've been shut out in ..."

Goalie takes long road to success

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October 28

Edmonton Journal

"While Peter Budaj recovers in Denver from the swine flu, Craig Anderson has been on fire. Anderson has been one of the hottest NHL goalies in the season's first month, playing every minute of the Colorado Avalanche's 12 games, proving that stopping pucks is the only position where teams don't write you off the older you get. Anderson, the league's best free-agent signing at a salary-cap hit of $1.8 million US over two years, has patiently bided his time to be the go-to guy in net. He was originally drafted by Calgary in 1999, but the Flames didn't sign him and he went back into the draft in 2001, when the Chicago Blackhawks took him. He was on waivers three times in less than three weeks ..."

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